The 66-year-old’s discharge follows that of his daughter Yulia after both of them were poisoned in Salisbury, Wiltshire, on 4 March.

The pair were found unconscious an frothing at the mouth on a park bench in the cathedral city after coming into contact with the military-grade agent.

DS Nick Bailey, who was exposed to novichok while investigating the attack, was the first to be discharged from hospital on 2 March.

A Salisbury District Hospital spokesperson said in a statement: “While these patients have now been discharged, their right to patient confidentiality remains and limits us from giving detailed accounts of the treatment these individuals received.

“However, treating people who are so acutely unwell, having been poisoned by nerve agents, requires stabilising them, keeping them alive until their bodies could produce more enzymes to replace those that had been poisoned.”

Salisbury District Hospital Chief Executive, Cara Charles-Barks, said: “It is fantastic news that Sergei Skripal is well enough to leave Salisbury District Hospital.

“That he, Yulia and DS Bailey have been able to leave us so soon after coming into contact with this nerve agent is thanks to the hard work, skill and professionalism of our clinicians, who provide outstanding care to all our patients, day in and day out.”

Detectives were still questioning Mr Skripal on Thursday as he continued his recovery nearly 10 weeks after the attack.

Officers wanted to know more about his frequent train journeys to London and his alleged monthly meetings with a former MI6 handler in a Salisbury restaurant.

Russia has accused the UK of “forcefully containing” the Skripals as the Kremlin continues to insist it was not behind the attack, which sparked a wave of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions.

Mr Skripal and his daughter have since turned down offers of help from their home country.

The UK’s national security adviser Mark Sedwill told MPs on 1 May that no suspects have been identified in the police investigation.

Mr Sedwill had previously told NATO that Russian intelligence had been spying on the Skripals for at least five years.

A Scotland Yard statement said: “Detectives from the UK’s Counter Terrorism Policing network continue to investigate the attempted murders of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury in March this year.

“They are both making good progress and we are pleased that Mr Skripal has now also been released from hospital, which was announced by the NHS earlier this morning.

“This is a complex investigation and detectives continue to gather and piece together all the evidence to establish the full facts and circumstances behind this dreadful attack.

“In the interests of Sergei and Yulia’s safety, we will not be discussing any protective or security arrangements that are in place.”

Alastair Hay, Professor of Environmental Toxicology at Leeds University, has previously told Sky News that the Skripals had managed a “miracle” recovery.

He added: “The nerve agents are deadly.

“That’s why they were chosen as chemical weapons. If you are exposed to a number of lethal doses then invariably it is fatal.”

Professor Hay continued: “The Skripals have survived because they’ve had great medical care.”

– Sky News

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